THREE Teesside residents yesterday won a High Court victory over plans to break up a fleet of so-called United States navy "ghost ships" in the area.

THREE Teesside residents yesterday won a High Court victory over plans to break up a fleet of so-called United States navy "ghost ships" in the area.

Allowing their challenge, a senior judge ruled that the planning permission relied upon by Able UK, which has the contract for dismantling the ships, was fatally flawed.

The judge expressed "grave concern" that four of the ships had been brought all the way across the Atlantic - but he had not been shown either a planning permission, waste management licence or environmental assessment for the proposed work.

Mr Justice Sullivan, sitting in London, said he was not saying the documents did not exist, but he called for an investigation "into the decision-making processes" which had led to him not being shown the documents.

The ruling was a victory for the three campaigners - Neil Gregan, 25, Stephen Hall, 43, and Ben Marley, 18. all from Hartlepool. They said they recognised that the "toxic" ships must be dismantled, but argued the US should be dealing with its own waste.